A group of volunteers has started raising funds to repair a wishing well at a beauty spot after it was the target of hammer-wielding yobs.

Vandals were believed to have used a hammer or another heavy tool to smash part of the wall at the wishing well at Greenhill Gardens on Weymouth seafront.

The incident was reported to have taken place sometime between Monday, March 25 and Tuesday, March 26.

Money intended to be given to charity was also thought to be stolen from the well, but it is not clear how much was taken. 

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Weymouth Rotary Club, which is responsible for the upkeep of the well after taking over from the disbanded Melcombe Regis Rotary Club, has begun to raise funds to see the well rebuilt.

The club has now set up an online fundraising page on GoFundMe to help raise the necessary funds to repair the site. 

With the well due to be unveiled for the new season, the club had already spent around £1,000 in repairs before it was vandalised, and it is appealing to the public for more funds.

Jerry Way, a member of the Rotary club, said: “So far we have raised £40. Considering the last lot of repairs set us back around £1,000, we would be happy to collect an amount in the region of £750 or so.

“We have received an awful lot of really good feedback following the news, and a lot of people were upset by what they saw.

“It’s been brilliant to see such good support for this cause,” he added.

The club was in the process of renovating the well to give it a new look and make it an attraction after an idea from Mr Way’s eight-year old granddaughter, Islay, to rename the well to the Greenhill Magical Fairy Wishing Well.

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The new look would feature pictures of fairies, dragonflies, and butterflies.

Designed to be a hot spot for families to visit to make wishes by throwing coins into the well, the money gets distributed to a number of local causes that the Rotary Club supports.

The repair job on the structure could take ‘a couple of months’ according to Mr Way.

The well had previously been a target for vandals in 2018, but was repaired again.

To find out more about the work that the rotary club do, visit their website at https://www.weymouthrotary.uk/

To donate to the repair works to the Greenhill Gardens wishing well, visit  https://t.ly/IH5zu